SCORES

    Was I really expecting this to happen? I didn't even have a clue that the person who had been interviewing me nicely was the person who had sworn to take me to the prison if he we ever crossed path. I looked into the sea blue eyes that were slowly turning grey for no reason, not knowing what to do. Would this be the end of me and my ambitions? I have always dreamt of working with the biggest jewelry company in my country. The train of my thoughts was put to halt when he thumped the table and came out of his dimension. I wasn't sure he recognized me that well but I couldn't tell him that it wasn't me. Sooner or later, he would find out and that would only escalate the issue. 

   I could see him running his fingers through his hair and running it out again. He would try to say something by starting to gesticulate but he would end up dropping his hand and I stood there, watching him do whatever he wanted to do; termination? I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I would have to accept my fate.

    “I just wanna ask you a single question, and I want you to answer it honestly. Okay?" He asked me through gritted teeth, narrowing his gaze as he approached me gently. I shrugged, knowing what he was going to ask me.

    “Are you really that... that.." he pointed skywards. “Hazel? The one I met at the Silversteins party?" He asked, shaking his head from side to side as if he was expecting me to say know. It had been over fifteen months now and there was no way any of us could recognize one another because we barely saw each other's faces that night. The only thing I remembered about him was his name; GERALD FRASER.

   “Yes, it's me." I said with what I couldn't say was confidence, but I tried to be confident and not get intimidated. That was my past; this was a new me. I just have to be myself here if I didn't want to go to jail today.

   "How dare you come into my office?" He yelled, raising his arm - like he was going to strangulate me but he brought down his arms and put them in his pocket. I knew I had lost this job, but I wouldn't lose myself to jail. He had no proof.

   “For your information, I didn't come into your office. You invited me willingly. You have always invited me." I told him, referring to what happened the other night.

   "How confident!" He chuckled back to his seat. “Can I share something with you?" He asked and I knew it was sarcastic. He was going to say it even if I didn't consent. I shrugged a ‘no problem' while I started to pack my things on his table.

   "I never believed in love at first sight until I saw you. But you shattered my heart just after I confessed my love for you. Do you even know how painful that was? I almost couldn't heal and I would have died of depression if I didn't have a family. You crushed my heart and you want to work in my company?" He smirked and stood up again, leaning forward. “You will have no place in my life. Not ever! A thief cannot work for me. Someone who broke my heart can't stay anywhere near me."

  “Your story can be so heart breaking. I wasn't expecting you to tell me all of that, but can I also share something with you?" I asked rhetorically. “I know you never loved me. If you did, you could have ignored what happened that night and given me a second chance. Did you that? No you didn't."

   “Enough! I have had enough of your blind confidence. You should be behind bars right now but I am giving you the privilege to walk out of here and don't ever come back. Beat it!" He yelled, showing me the way to the door. I carried my boxes and turned to away immediately. My eyes were teary but if I was going to cry, it wouldn't be here - in front of Gerald. I approached the door but before I could reach the door, it opened and Arin came in.

 “Mr. Fraser, the BOD is here. They would like to meet you." Arin told him. He glanced at me and nodded gently. Arin went out and the so called BOD came in. They were four in numbers, smiling broadly as they approached Gerald's table. I stepped out of the office but I didn't leave the entrance because I was nervous. My mind wasn't able to settle down. It just felt like a nightmare. I was close to getting the job and I could actually do anything to get this job for myself.

    “Congratulations Mr. Fraser." I heard one of the BODs congratulating him from where I stood and that drew my attention. I leant closely at the wall to find the reason he was being congratulated. He didn't seem like someone who had good news beforehand.

  “I am sorry, but what for?" I heard his voice quivering as he said that. So, he also didn't know why he was being congratulated.

   “Oh! Are you being serious? For our new employee of course. I couldn't believe you could made a decision so fast. You actually made the best decision, you know? Anyways, where is he right now? We need to have a colloquy with him. The designs you sent to us were just so amazing and he will be very good. So where is he now?" I could tell that it was me they were talking about. If these people really liked my work, I could take the advantage. 

   “Actually... Firstly, she is a lady. But... I want to tell you something about her." I heard Gerald say and my heart began to race again. He would scupper my plans if he revealed to these people about the past. I might never be able to work in any jewelry company in the country if these people got to know about me.

    “What do you want to say? And where is she now?" I heard another man ask him and I had no other choice but to barge in. If they truly loved my work, they wouldn't mind my manners.

    “I am here sir.." I said as I entered and they all turned around to see me. I smiled and approached them without even waiting for them to tell me anything. I dropped my boxes on the table and turned to face them. “My name is Hazel Willoughby." I introduced myself. They all glanced at one another for a few seconds before diverting their attention back to me. I saw Gerald clenching his fist and gritting his teeth but I didn't focus on him.

    “Would you like to check out my work?" I asked when I saw that no one was talking. They were actually staring at me with awe.

    “Yea sure!" One of them nodded. “I am Bry Agnes. The board's chairman. You're welcome to our company." He shook my hands. 

    "And I am Richard Boulder, the executive director." Another shook my hand.

   “I am Charles Smith. The CFO of the company." 

   “And I am Johannes Kapson. The vice president." They all introduced themselves and shook my hand while Gerald stood there looking dumb. I opened the boxes and showed them all the pieces of jewelry I made. I could see them admiring each and every objects they found in the boxes.

   “Mr. Fraser, what do you say to this? How can a lady be so perfect like Ms. Willoughby? She has a wide range knowledge of these things and I am sure she will take our company to the greatest heights. She is jovial and cool." Mr. Charles told him while he admired the diamond necklace I designed.

    "I really need to tell you guys something. We cannot..."

    "Oh yea, I forgot to tell you." I cut in before he would say what he wanted to say. I picked up the paper Gerald had asked me to sign and showed it to the BOD. I knew he wouldn't want to take back his statement, especially when the BOD saw that I had signed the agreement. “Mr. Fraser wants me as well, I have signed the permanent staff member’s agreement. And I am ready to work for you all. I will put in my best." 

   "We are looking forward to that Ms. Willoughby. It's so obvious that you are a precious gemstone that we must not lose. You're an amazing designer and I am sure you can help teach other staff members too." Mr. Cole said and I nodded.

    “Mrs. Willoughby, can you tell us how you became so good? How did you get the knowledge of all cultural designs? You are actually the first person I have met." Mr. Charles said.

    "Me too..." Mr. Cole added. I felt so overwhelmed hearing all of these praises and compliments. It even made me ignore Gerald's words.

    “Well, the last fifteen months of my life have been between France and Turkey, learning how to make the best jewelry designs. Learning all cultural jewelry designs can be very stressful but it was my goal and I achieved it. I learnt everything and I graduated as the best student with no criminal records." I told them, smiling but I was actually directing the information to Gerald. I could see him making a move when he heard (with no criminal records).

    "That's really nice. You are everything we need in our company. We want this company to be unique. We want it to be different from the rest of the jewelry making companies in this country so we decided to give room to all culture jewelries designs. Africans, Asians, Europeans, Americans, Australians."

    “I am ready to do anything for this company. But of course, with Mr. Fraser's permission. I need to know if he wants me here or not." I said and turned to Gerald.

    "Why wouldn't he want you here? Everyone wants you to stay here and work for us." Mr. Bry said.

   "Would you like to ask him?" I queried.

 "Mr. Fraser, this is a gemstone, we cannot lose her. Do you have problem with this lady?"

    Gerald looked up, staring at me threateningly but I kept smiling at him. I didn't let his glare intimidate me. “W.. why - would I have a pro...blem with her? She is good and capable. She is our employer now and she will be working for us from now on." I finally forced him to say what he never thought he would say some minutes ago.

   "Can you hear that Ms. Willoughby?" They asked and I nodded.

    The executive director walked towards me, handing over a bracelet he had taken from my box to me. "Ms. Willoughby, what is your experience working in a team?" He asked me when everywhere was silent. It was if he had been waiting for the silence to ask the question. I didn't know why I felt he asked me the question because he had a hidden agenda. He hadn't been speaking since and that made me very worried. I took a deep breath and tried to act like everything was normal. You can do this, I encouraged myself.

    "During my courses, most of my teachers assigned group projects. I always enjoyed the chance to work with others and learn from their perspectives. My favorite project was examining a company for an economics class. We all communicated so well, and that made our project one of the best in the class. Some of my teammates were in business classes as well, so they gave us advice we might not have known about otherwise. Since we weren't based only on designs. We did the theoretical aspect of it."

    "That's nice." He nodded, staring the wall in front of him. He had another question to ask me, I could tell. "How would you define success in this role?"

    "Success is when I can find the perfect piece for a customer. I love seeing a customer smile when they finally find exactly what they're looking for and leave with something that brightens their day." I replied and he nodded again, congratulating me. They all welcomed me again and left the office when they were done with the rest of the formalities. When they were all gone, I picked up my boxes and started to leave the office when Gerald called me back.

    "Yes boss!" I answered sarcastically.

  "What a beautiful game you played today. I can see that you are very smart. Let me make one thing clear to you. If you steal anything from my company, I will destroy you completely." He threatened but I wasn't fazed.

    "You actually look cute when upset." I admitted.